


Not Someday, Now

by yvngjxnnings



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Sterling couldn't go home, This is really gay I'm sorry, fuck miles honestly, i did it for emma, idk might be a one shot, it's also really short, lock in, might add another chapter with some banana in it, my first fic honestly, renew tbh, sterling just really loves april, that's sterling in this fic, too much hovering, yall know that scene in hill house where theo says she can't feel anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:13:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27287725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yvngjxnnings/pseuds/yvngjxnnings
Summary: Instead of going home after the kidnapping, Sterling asks to be taken back to the lock-in. She can't stand being around her parents (aunt and uncle?) or sister (cousin?). It's too much. So, she seeks comfort in the one person she can be real with.
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 5
Kudos: 108





	Not Someday, Now

**Author's Note:**

> Emma asked for a fic to be written about this on twitter, so I decided to take on the challenge. It's my first fic on here, and I'm more of an editor than a writer, so don't judge too hard, but constructive criticism is welcome. Be sure to follow Emma (@PET5CH) and I (yvngjxnnings) on twitter

“ _Sterling… you are_ my _daughter_.”

The words rang in her ears the whole way back to Atlanta. If her sister ( _cousin_ , her brain told her) or her parents ( _aunt and uncle_ , she reminded herself) spoke to her, she didn’t remember. She didn’t move, didn’t cry. She just sat in the back seat of the car, staring straight ahead.

She was certain she should have been feeling some sort of emotion. Anger, sadness, maybe even fear. She wanted to feel _something_ , but she was numb. She felt empty, like a shell of a person. Everything she had ever known had been swept out from under her feet like a rug, leaving her lying on her back, too emotionally exhausted to push herself back up to her feet.

How was she supposed to react to the news that her mother was actually her aunt, and Blair, her _twin_ , was actually her cousin?

She knew Blair was staring at her, _that_ she could feel. Blair was desperately trying to communicate with her, trying to make sure Sterling was okay using their Twin Powers, but it appeared that the connection they shared had disappeared when the truth had been revealed. The thought sent a panic through her. Blair was her lifeline, as Sterling was for Blair. Whenever Sterling felt lost, Blair was there to guide her. But now, that was gone with the wind, left back in the RV park like a forgotten memory.

Sterling needed to get away from her family. It was too much, she felt suffocated. She needed air, and she knew if she went home, Debbie, Anderson, and Blair would hover. She wouldn’t get a moment alone. Blair would want to sleep in her bed. Even the thought of Chloe sleeping next to her was too much. She needed a break.

“Take me back to the lock-in,” Sterling blurted suddenly. They had already missed the turn toward Willingham, but she didn’t care. There was only one person Sterling wanted to be around, regardless of the fact that they had broken her heart mere hours ago. She didn’t care about the fact that April had hurt her, or that she had been flirting with Luke, or even that John Stevens had been cleared of his charges and was back home, where he could potentially tell April the truth about Sterling. She needed to feel April’s arms around her.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Debbie began, “you’ve had a rough night. It might be best for you to get some sleep.”

Sterling narrowed her eyes. “Debbie, take me to the lock-in.”

Debbie was taken aback by the use of her name, and nodded quickly. “O-Okay, sweetheart. Anderson, turn around.”

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Blair asked from beside her, reaching a hesitant hand out to lay on Sterling’s shoulder.

Sterling shrugged Blair’s hand away. “No, go home. You’ve had a rough night too. I’m assuming it didn’t go too well with Miles.” There was an edge to her tone. The conversation was over. Thankfully, Blair didn’t respond.

Ellen was standing outside with Franklin and Horny Lorna when the Wesleys pulled up outside the school. Her face was red, and Sterling knew immediately that she had caught the two teens in the act.

“Oh, Sterling, you’re back! I was looking all over for you, and I wound up finding these two engaged in,” she paused, lowering her voice to a whisper, “sexual activity. Their parents are on their way, but you can go on inside. I think Hannah B. is playing her guitar in the Fellowship room.”

Sterling kept her head down as she marched inside, knowing that if Ellen had any knowledge of what she was about to do, she too would have been sent home from the lock-in. She couldn’t have that happen, not tonight. This didn’t deter her from her plans, however. She would just have to be more careful.

She found the girl in the hall outside the Fellowship room, nervously pacing back and forth as she muttered to herself. April snapped her head up when she heard Sterling’s footsteps approaching.

“Luke, I told you-” April stopped mid-sentence when her eyes landed on Sterling, her eyes lighting up for a second as her breathing slowed down before she regained her composure. “Oh, it’s you.” April’s voice was cold, but Sterling could hear what sounded like… relief?... in her tone. What could April possibly be relieved about?

“I’ve been texting you for hours, I was worried sick, and then you blocked my number?” April snapped in a low whisper. “How was I supposed to run this lock-in with-”

April’s sentence was cut off as Sterling grabbed her wrist, dragging toward the classroom where Forensics practice was held. The room was off-limits, Sterling knew, but fortunately, due to Ellen’s unassuming nature, she knew she’d be able to avoid getting caught under the guise of needing to discuss Forensics with April, should the chaperone find them in there.

Sterling pushed the door open and pulled April inside, and no sooner had the door been closed when she pushed April up against it, her lips finding the shorter girl’s on their own accord.

In that moment, all of the emotions Sterling had been wanting to feel since the RV park flooded her body. It was like kissing April made her feel safe enough to let go. Her heart was hurting, but she kissed April harder, and when April began moving her lips with Sterling’s, she swore something in her broke.

“Sterl…” April whispered a few seconds later, pulling away slightly, lifting her hands to cup Sterling’s cheeks. She wiped away the tears creating tracks on her skin. “You’re crying. What happened?”

It was as if their conversation earlier in the night hadn’t occurred. April was comforting her like a concerned girlfriend, rather than a closeted girl, terrified of her father finding out that she was a lesbian. It made Sterling’s tears flow heavier.

“Did something happen with Blair? Did your sister say something? Talk to me, Sterling.”

“She’s not my sister,” Sterling blurted suddenly. Her jaw dropped and she clasped a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that. She wasn’t going to tell April any of it, not yet, anyway.

“What? Of course she’s your sister,” April told her. “I’ve never seen a stronger connection between two people. I get that she might have hurt you, but you two will get through it, I promise.”

“No,” Sterling began, “Blair isn’t my sister. She’s my cousin. My parents, I mean Debbie and Anderson, they’re my aunt and uncle.”

“How is that even possible?” The puzzled look on April’s face would have made Sterling laugh, under any other circumstance. It was not often that April Stevens seemed confused. “You look so much like your mo- Debbie. You have to be her daughter.”

Sterling shook her head. “She was a twin. My biological mother, Dana.” And so, Sterling dove straight in to recounting the events that had transpired since the last time she had seen April. Kissing Luke, the kidnapping, the revelation. When all had been said, Sterling let out a heavy sigh. It felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest, and now all she wanted was to cuddle up with April and sleep for a week. She knew, however, that the chances of getting April to agree to such a thing were slim, if there were any chance at all.

“What… the fuck?” April responded after a minute of silence, and Sterling’s jaw dropped. She had only heard April use obscene language once before, when she mentioned how her father made her mother mortgage the lake house for Stupid. Fucking. Legal Fees. “Sterling, I’m so sorry. God, this is all my fault. I made you feel like you needed to leave the lock-in. I’m sorry, I was just so anxious because he had asked about you and Blair and I just thought if I flirted with a guy, any rumors he might have heard might go away and-”

Sterling cut her rambling off. “April, listen to me. I need to tell you why he asked about Blair and I, and it’s not what you think. But I need you to promise you will listen to me fully, and wait to react until the end. It’s not something you’re going to like.”

April nodded, her brow furrowed, and allowed Sterling to lead her over to sit on a desk.

“Blair and I are bounty hunters,” Sterling started off with, and held her hand up when April opened her mouth to respond. “What did I say?”

April shut her mouth and gestured for Sterling to continue.

“It started one night when Blair and I were driving home. We had gotten in a collision, and when we got out of the car to get the other driver’s information, he pulled a gun on Blair. I pulled mine on him, and then a car pulled up. Bowser, our boss at the yogurt shop, got out of the car, and we found out that the driver of the car had been bailed out of jail and was trying to skip out on his bond.”

We had been driving my dad- Anderson’s truck without his knowledge, and realized that we would need to get it fixed without him knowing, so we convinced Bowser to give us half of the cut.”

“Sterling, where is this going?” April asked. “All I’m getting from this is that you’ve been putting yourself in danger for the last couple of months.”

“Just wait,” Sterling continued, sighing. “The money we got from turning in the skip wasn’t enough to cover the damage to the truck, so we asked Bowser if he had any jobs he needed help with, and he did. April, Blair and I turned your father in.”

April’s jaw set, and she started to stand so she could leave the room, but Sterling stopped her.

“Wait, I need you to understand that we didn’t do it to hurt you- well Blair did mention it at first, but that’s not why we did it. Your dad deserved to go to jail. I’m sorry we hurt you, but I’m not sorry for putting him away.”

“So, when you asked about my father that day after Spanish, you didn’t actually care? You were just covering your own ass?”

Sterling winced. April was mad, justifiably, but it still hurt to know that April thought Sterling was just worried about herself.

“No! Of course not! I meant it when I said that I care about you, I wasn’t even thinking about that.”

  
“And you expect me to believe that?” April shook her head, moving away from Sterling. “Don’t talk to me.”

“April, wait,” Sterling said, reaching for April’s hand. “I promise I was more worried about you. I’m sorry. I just needed you to hear it from me.” Sterling stared down at where her fingers interlocked with April’s. “I understand if you don’t want to talk to me. Just don’t tell anyone.”

April sighed and brought Sterling’s hand to her lips. “I won’t,” she replied, pressing a kiss on the back of Sterling’s palm. “But I need you to be honest with me from now on.”

Sterling nodded. “Are we okay? Are we doing this?”

“Doing what?” April asked, refusing to meet Sterling’s eyes.

“This, us,” Sterling answered. “You know what I mean. I want to be with you. Not someday, now.”

“But you kissed Luke earlier,” April reminded her.

“He was going to ask you out, and I was so terrified of seeing you with him, even though he’s a guy, that I had to put a stop to it. I panicked. But truly, you are the one I want.”

“So now we’re quoting Grease?” April teased, a small smirk on her face. Sterling rolled her eyes and leaned forward to kiss the shorter girl, but April put a hand on the blonde’s shoulder, effectively stopping their lips from meeting. Her face clouded over with apprehension. “I don’t know, Sterl. Even if he hasn’t been told anything about us, anything could happen. You’re not very good at hiding your emotions, and someone might pick up on it.”

“April, listen, if your father finds out, you can come live with us,” Sterling offered. “My parents, they might have questions, but they would let you stay.”

“Sterl, you just called them your parents,” April pointed out, raising her brows.

“That’s not the point right now. What I’m saying is, take this leap with me, please. We’ll figure it out as we go. I can live with keeping us a secret, as long as it means I get to be with you.”

“You’re asking a lot of me, and I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“April, I’m scared too. I don’t know how my parents will respond. But my feelings for you are so intense, and I want to explore this new side of me with you,” Sterling pleaded.

April looked at Sterling. “That’s why I said maybe someday.”

  
“And what if our someday never comes? I would regret not taking this chance with you, and I think you would too. Trust me, this could be amazing.”

April moved away from Sterling and walked over to the door. Sterling was sure the other girl was about to leave, but instead, April turned the lock on the door. Sterling chuckled to herself. _I should have seen that coming_ , she thought to herself.

April returned to her spot in front of Sterling, placing a hand on the taller girl’s cheek as she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to Sterling’s jaw. Sterling’s breathing hitched, and she gripped the edge of the desk she was sitting atop.

“April?” Sterling whispered, tentatively placing a hand on April’s waist.

“Shh,” April hushed Sterling, moving her lips up to meet Sterling’s, and suddenly Sterling lost all train of thought. All that mattered in that moment was April. April’s lips pressing against hers, April standing between her legs, her hands on Sterling’s thighs. Sterling wondered what it would be like to feel April lift her up. April did lift, after all. Subsequently, Sterling wondered just how much they could get away with in that small classroom.

Sterling shook the impure thoughts out of her brain, deciding in that moment that she would wait. Having sex with April seemed much more special than with Luke, and she wanted it to be romantic, rather than a heat of the moment thing. Additionally, she didn’t want to push April into something she wasn’t ready for. She knew April’s purity was special to her, regardless of whether or not the purity ring she wore on her left ring finger was given to her by her woman-beating father.

So Sterling would wait. And honestly, waiting for April was worth it. She realized, in that moment, her answer to her own question from the day before. Her feelings for April had always been there, just below the surface. She had always assumed it was intense dislike for the other girl. Now, she understood that it was the opposite.

As they pulled away a few minutes later to breathe, Sterling rested her forehead on April’s, her eyes slowly opening. “I’m not ready to go back out there yet. I just want to stay in this little bubble with you. Pretend everything is perfect, we’re out and proud and we don’t have to hide.”

“I could potentially text Ellen and tell her that you’re having a rough night. Maybe you needed someone to comfort you,” April whispered in her ear. “She would let the two of us stay in here tonight.”

Sterling grinned and nodded before her eyes widened. “Remind me in the morning, I need to go get a new phone.”

“Oh thank the lord, you didn’t actually block my number,” April said with a heavy exhale. “I was worried you’d never talk to me again.”

Sterling laughed and shook her head. “Dana threw my phone out the window when I tried to call Debbie and Anderson.”

“And she’s back to using their first names,” April said, chuckling. “You know, you’re justified in your anger, you don’t have to rush into forgiving them. Your feelings are valid.”

Sterling nodded, kissing April again before letting the girl move to pull her phone out and text Ellen.

“I’m going to go get our sleeping bags,” April said. “I’ll be right back.”

While she waited for April to come back, Sterling remembered the events of the night. Her eyes filled with tears, and she began sobbing, unable to hold it in anymore.

When April returned, she wrapped her arms around Sterling and moved her to the floor where she had put the sleeping bags. “Shh, love. It’s okay. I’m here.”

April held Sterling as she cried, running her fingers through the blonde’s hair and gently rocking her. When Sterling eventually calmed down, April looked down at her. “Tell me about bounty hunting. Did you ever get hurt? Are you safe? Am I going to need to go to nursing school to learn how to stitch you back up?”

“Well, there was the one time I had a bible thrown at me,” Sterling said.

April gasped. “No more bounty hunting for you.”

Sterling laughed and placed a finger under April’s chin, pulling her down for a kiss. And in that moment, nothing else mattered to her.


End file.
